


Do You Remember?

by Not_a_girly_girl



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst and Romance, Closure, F/M, Human/Monster Romance, Post-War, Romance, immortal naruto, kitsune naruto, old Sakura, ptsd mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28688925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_a_girly_girl/pseuds/Not_a_girly_girl
Summary: A hospital-bound Sakura begins to reminisce about her younger years and, while thinking back, she drifts off to sleep. Hours later, she awakes to an expected visitor from 40 years ago. Was it the drugs? Some kind of delusion? Why is he here, and more importantly, how does he still look the same after all these years? [One-shot]
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uzumaki Naruto
Kudos: 13





	Do You Remember?

**Author's Note:**

> It may be unrelated but you may want to listen to Do you remember by Jill Scott [a classic] while reading. Just a suggestion.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open at the voice of another. Again, she awoke to her hospital room, which has been her home away from home, for the last three weeks after suffering from a heart attack. Too much stress, not enough sleep they said. How can she rest given the countless tests they run on her, not to mention the rehab she'll have to take soon. What would Shikamaru say? How..troublesome.

"Ugh, I'm starting to see why my former patients always groaned whenever they would see me." she sarcastically said. "All these tests are what's going to kill me, not stress."

"Oh come on," the young doctor scoffed. "You worked in this very hospital not too long ago yourself, you know how it is."

"Yeah, and now I'm here stuck with you as my doctor." A smirk formed on the young man's face as he shook his head.

"Are you saying you failed as a mentor? The greatest doctor that's ever worked here?" he questioned.

Sakura only smiled at that young adult, still a little weak from the anesthesia. "So, Dr. Asai, how am I?"

"Well, your vitals are stable and your stats are defiantly better than yesterday. Seems like you're going to be just fine."

Sakura smiled weakly at the young doctor. "Thank you, Dr. Asai."

He smiled back and gently tapped at her hand. "Anything for my former mentor. Also, didn't I ask you to call me Mori? I may be a doctor now but-"

"I know I know... You've blossomed into a talented young doctor so to me, it's basic respect. You've earned the right to be called Doctor." Sakura explained in between heavy breaths. She can still vividly remember fifteen years ago when he first started to come around the hospital. His father, a plant worker, had developed lung cancer. Once his father started chemo, Mori would come with him to the hospital, even during the school semester. Mori quickly became well known throughout the hospital because of his playful and kind demeanor, It was as if he gained a whole other family. Sakura and Mori especially developed a special bond, mostly because she was the one treating his father and once he died, she decided to take of him as if he was her own. She still remembers the day he told her he wanted to be like her and to teach him everything she knows. Honestly, who would deny a request like that?

"Yeah well, I can see you're still tired and how you are struggling to breathe so I think it's time for you to rest now. Good night."

"Good...night."

As soon as her former mentee closed the door, Sakura let out a deep but shaky sigh. 'Another day of avoiding death huh? It's been way too many close calls these days, I wonder when it'll really be time for me to go.' she thought. A deep chuckle escaped her lips 'Whenever that is.'

Since then, she's been visited by her friends and family, or what's left of that group. Though she was only in her early seventies, Sakura had outlived most of her friends, including her late ex-husband Sasuke. It was a different time back then, a war was raging and the villages needed manpower, which is where she and a bunch of her friends came in. Now, four decades later, it still has its effects. Three comrades, Neji, Shino, and Kiba never returned from the field. Hinata didn't take her cousin's death very well, hell they were like brother and sister, and delve into a deep depression. She...lived on in memory of him but mentally, she never recovered. God, she could still remember the call she got from Ino about her death. It only got worse from there. Because of the chemicals used on the battlefield, a lot of former people developed different forms of cancers, including Chouji, Tenten, and her ex-husband, Sasuke. Out of the three of them, Sasuke lasted the longest, the last of them to die. Even though they weren't on the best terms some of the time, that was her husband at some point and the father to her only child, of course, she stayed with him until the very end. Now, all that's left from Konoha 11. their squad name, were Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sai.

The EKG machine and her oxygen machine are the only things that fill her ears as she drifts further and further into her memories. "Hmph.." What could she say, or rather think, about him? She remembers when they were younger, just before the war, how she would run around after him. It's funny, her mother told her countless times not to run behind a guy, obviously, she didn't listen. Young her was...hardheaded. A low chuckle escaped her lips as she remembered the countless times he turned her down. It's quite embarrassing, to say the least. Leading up to the war though, she'd grown out of that phase and mainly focused on herself. She credits her best friend Ino, thank God she's still alive, and her former mentor, Lady Tsunade, and her parents. With their support, she became the extraordinary woman she is today, from being one of the few woman soldiers to being head of medicine during the second wave, it would have not been possible without them. Well, there was someone else.

Sakura hummed at the fond memories...

Uzumaki Naruto was his name. She met him during the war. It was such a gloomy and serious time but he managed to keep a smile on his, and her, face. He was a tall guy, lean built with sun-kissed skin. He had these whiskers like marks, she never asked about their origins and spikey blond hair. He had these beautiful blue eyes but what really captivated her was his smile. That beautiful smile of his could light up a room. Just a good human being overall.

She remembers the first time they met, she was carrying these medical books from Lady Tsunade's office to her new base of operations. Carrying three stacks of big thick and heavy books, naturally, she would know to watch out for anybody and everybody else here, right? But of course, there's always that one person who doesn't pay attention and knocked right into her, books landing around the both of them. 'Who the fu-' Was she could get out before laying her eyes upon this beautiful man. She was so mesmerized by his beauty that she didn't catch herself staring until he waved his hands in front of her face.

'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was going. Are you alright? ...Hello?'

'B-Baka!'

And it went from there. She wasn't completely smitten with him at first, even though he was, but because of coincidental meetings and somehow ending up on the same battle squad, she fell for him. The longer they spent together, the harder it was to be apart. Sakura needed to see him, to feel him, and as did he. In those ten months, the two became inseparable. Sakura was so deeply in love with him and even considered living the rest of her days with that man. It was perfect, as soon as this war was over, they spend every waking moment together. Unfortunately, those plans fell apart within the last two months of the war.

A gloomy half-smile appeared on Sakura's face as she remembered those depressing moments.

They were pulled away from each other due to Sakura being needed to tend the soldiers, due to her gift in medicine and a limited amount of nurses, while left to go on the frontlines. Every day she worried if he'd come back in one piece or in one of those stretchers she'd see rolling in every five minutes. Every time a new injured soldier came in, she'd hold her breath and uncover their faces. It was nerve-racking not knowing theater the person you love will come back to you dead or alive. Soon, she didn't have to worry any longer once she was drafted to go out on the frontlines, the first of many women to be on the battlefield. It was a different time so not everything was forward-thinking when it came to women but the village leaders didn't care if you were a man or a woman at that point. They needed a turning point and needed more soldiers. Who's more qualified than a group of women who trained right along with the men, some better than the men out there? So Sakura and the whole women's division headed to the frontlines becoming a huge aid to the men. Sakura, being equally talented with a gun as she is with medicine, leads the militia into battle. It was exhilarating and...scary! Bodies from both sides were everywhere, they were getting shot at in every direction but fortunately, she and the rest of the women made it to the trenches. As soon as she got there, he was the first person she laid her eyes on and swept him up in a tight hug. It'd been so long, she almost forgot what he felt like.

'I thought I'd never see you again!'

'N-Neither did I!'

The brief reunion didn't last of course. The enemy manage to get a grenade inside the trenches and was quickly reminded of where they were. She was forced to fight side by side with her love. The battle was long, hard, and most of all traumatic. Watching friends and family getting gunned down like a dog in the street... It was a lot. Sakura was used to it however, she'd been around it far more than a lot of the people she's fighting alongside. What she didn't expect was to see her love become one of those people.

Sakura's eyes start to water as she remembers that gut-wrenching moment when she saw her beloved get hit. It was as if everything happened in slow motion. Sakura was shooting at the enemy in front of her when out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone aiming their gun at him. She reacted with quickness and shot him. A brief smile was shared between them before tragedy struck. A bullet comes out of nowhere went straight through his stomach.

Sakura never screamed so loud in her life. She killed the shooter with swiftness and rushed to his side. His blood was spreading from his abdomen and blood came spilling from his mouth. She kept telling him everything was going to be ok, even though she knew in the back of her mind, it wasn't. She started to take off her jacket to stop the bleeding but he grabbed her arms and looked her straight in the eyes. Still so blue and full of life till the very end, he told her

'Don't worry about me. Like...Like you said. I-I'll be f-fine.'

'Don't leave me! J-Just wait a minute-'

'Sakura-chan... don't worry..I'll always be with you...'

As soon as those words left his lips, she saw his soul practically leave his body. His once bright eyes, so full of life, now cold and lifeless.

A single tear slides down Sakura's cheek as she lets out a shaky sigh.

She was messed up for months after that, even after successfully winning the war, even getting a badge of honor for war efforts, nothing could take her mind off of him. She didn't eat, didn't sleep, instead, she worked herself to the bone trying to bury herself in work. It didn't do much though, she couldn't help but think about him. The time they spent together, their quick 'dates', their kiss, their first night together... Everything.

That's probably how she found herself right back in the arms of her former crush.

Both lonely people just trying to find comfort in each other. At first, it was just casual sex, just to feel something, but it turned into more she got pregnant with Sarada. In comes the shotgun wedding and trying to make it work. At first, it wasn't so bad, he was there for the most part, right at her beck and call, and truth be told, she started to love him and he did her. Though, it was a different kind of love. She couldn't tell for a while but soon, concluded that what they felt for each other wasn't romantic but more so on the familial side. This lead to their eventual divorce when Sarada was mature enough to understand everything. The marriage wasn't perfect, hence the divorce, but it was what she needed at the time. She needed to move on and having a family to care for surely would take care of that.

"It's...what I needed."

Lately, she's found herself thinking about him, just like today. Maybe it's because she's one day closer to death. To seeing him. Whatever it is, she doesn't mind. Not one bit.

"One day, we'll be reunited, just like you said... Just like you said.." And with that, Sakura finally drifted off to sleep.

"Hey, you've been guiding me for a while..."

"Don't worry, we're almost there! Trust me!"

"Fine fine.."

Sakura hesitantly followed Naruto, feeling around her surrounding area. By the way, the area smelled and felt, and her almost tripping over objects three times, she knows they're in the mountains close to the base. She just has to figure out what he's trying to show her.

"Okay, just close your eyes while I take off the cloth."

Sakura does as she's told and lets him take it off. "Alright Naruto, can I look now?"

"Now you can look."

Sakura opened her eyes, blinked a couple of times to focus her eyes, and was taken aback by the scenery. They were near the edge of the mountains looking out into the sky. Clouds surrounded the sun as it was just coming up. Sakura turned towards her partner in awe. "Naruto, this is so beautiful..."

Naruto smiled back as he pulled her close, "I'm glad you think so. I discover this place while taking a walk the other day and the view was so beautiful, I just had to show you!"

"Oh, this is amazing..."

The couple stayed there watching the sunrise, basking in each other's presence until Naruto spoke. "Sakura-chan..?"

"Hm?" she responded still looking at the view.

"I-I... I love you."

Sakura froze for just a brief moment and turned to look at him. His cheeks were turning pink and his weight was shifty. He didn't dare look at her until she spoke. Sakura faced him fully and shot him a warm smile, "I love you." Naruto finally looked at her and drew closer, she as well, before they kissed.

Once they pulled back, he said to her, "I'll always be right by your side."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
A creek at the window awoke Sakura from her dreamworld. She blinked a couple of times to focus her eyesight but in the middle of doing that, she saw something. Something...red? She rubbed her eyes with her free hand and blinked a couple of times. She looked toward the window next to her and swore her heart dropped. With her breath hitched in her throat, she tried to make sense of what was happening. Was it the drugs? Some kind of delusion? It had to be because there is no way her beloved Naruto is outside of her window, on the third floor, looking right back at her. There's just no way...

"N-Naruto?"

"...Sakura-chan?" his deep voice carried through her hospital room. He wasn't outside of her window, he's inside of her room.

Sakura, not knowing if she's completely lost her mind or if it's a dream, slowly turns her body right just to be met with...him? Him staring back at her. He, who died forty years ago on the battlefield, standing right in front of her.

"How...is this...possible...?"

Naruto visibly hesitates and doesn't know whether to talk first or take a step forward. "I... Don't be afraid, ok?"

"A little too late for that..."

"R-Right.." Naruto looks around and spots a chair behind, picks it up, and sits it close enough to where Sakura can hear and see him. He sits down and doesn't his eyes off of her, and neither does she. They both sit in silence for a minute before Sakura speaks.

"You were dead... I saw you-I held you...! How are you here?"

For a minute, he doesn't know what to say. "I know that and to be quite honest, I don't know how to explain it."

"Try," she commands.

"Alright," he takes a deep breath and continues. "Make no mistake, I did die back then. I was...human back then, at least I thought I was. But actually," Naruto looks down at his hands. "I'm something...more. "

"I-I don't understand."

"I don't know what happened, or rather when it happened, but do you see my whisker marks?" he gestures towards his cheeks. "They've always been there since I was a kid right?'

"...Right?"

"You've always said I reminded you of-"

"A kitsune..." Sakura looks at him in total shock.

"...Yes. I...didn't know who I was for a long time until I 'died'. memories merged with my own and...I don't know I'm still trying to figure everything out..."

She looked at him in confusion. "Memories?"

"Yes. I am a Kitsune who has roamed this earth for thousands of years. Way back then, there was a battle between other yokai like myself, and ended up dying during the fight. However, I was reborn and grew up into the man you come to know me as. Thing is, I had those memories locked away so even though I could I was different, I could never figure what it was that made me so different. That is until I died on that field. When I died, every memory from before I was reborn unlocked for me and it was...a process trying to figure out what to do next and who or what I am really."

"I see.." She looks him up and down and notices he looks the same as before. "You haven't aged a day..."

"That's because I can control how people see me, which includes how old I look. It's something I did quite a lot when I was young." a short chuckle rose out of him.

"Young as in child right? Just...how old are you?"

"Older than you think..."

There is a considerable amount of silence between the two before Sakura speaks yet again. "All this time... This whole time you were..." her voice cracks as she talks from holding back her tears. "Why didn't you come to see me then? Why are you here now?"

"I wanted to and I tried...! Once I finally woke up and remembered everything, I tried to find you. But about time I made it back to base, it was empty, the war had been won and you were gone. I had no way to find you or even get a clue as to where you might be. But I wasn't going to give up! I never stopped looking for you and once I finally found you...you were with someone else about to give birth to someone else..."

Sakura looked away and stayed silent as he continued.

"You looked...so happy and I didn't want to get in the way and freak you out so I strayed away."

"...That still doesn't explain why you're here. Why now?"

"Remember what I said," He looked her straight in her eyes and gently grasped both said, "I will always be there, and I meant it. Ever since I heard of your condition, I've come every night because I...want to protect what is most precious to me and that's you."

"Naruto..." She looked at him with tears in her eyes that threaten to fall. "I-I missed you...so much. Every day for months all I could think about..."

Naruto pulls her in a gentle hug as she cries on his shoulder. Tears start to well in his eyes and he comforts his love. "Me too. Soon they both pull away and touch foreheads looking deep into one another's eyes.

"I love you, Sakura-chan."

"And I will always love you."

The two take a moment before they kiss. The kiss is light but passionate. It's very clear that even though it's been a long time, it still like the first time they kissed.

Naruto pulls away and embraces and whispers in her ear. "I have to go."

"But you just got here? You're leaving me again?" Sakura says clearly disappointed.

"That's the thing," He pulls away from the embrace and kisses her on the forehead. "I never left."

"N-Now wait, when will I see you again?"

Naruto sighed happily and smiled. "Whenever you call, I'll be right here."

Naruto began to pull the covers up for her and caress her hair. "I think it's time you rest."

"W-Wait!"

Naruto bent over and kissed his beloved on the forehead one more time. "Sleep well, Sakura-chan."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Sakura once again woke up and found herself in her hospital bed, Confused, she sat up rather quickly. "N-Naruto.." she mumbled under her breath.

"Hm? Oh Sakura-chan, you're awake!"

"Mo..ri?"

He giggled lightly. "Who else would it be? When I came in a few minutes ago, you looked like you were down for the count. Are these medicines that strong these days?" He joked.

Sakura, still a bit dazed and confused about everything, barely registered the conversation. Instead, she remembers what he last said.

"Sakura-chan, you alright?"

Whenever you call, I'll be right here

"Yeah, I'll be just fine."

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this then feel free to check out my other works! Feedback is much appreciated! Thank You!


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